Paper-bag machine.



No. 790,004. PATENTED MAY 23, 1905. .W. A. LORENZ.

PAPER BAG MACHINE.

I APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8.1903.

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- W.. A. LORENZ.

PAPER BAG MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8.1903.

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APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8.1903.

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I No. 790,304.

UNITED ST T S Patented May 23, 1905.

PATENT 7 OFFICE- WILLIAM A. LORENZ, OF HARTFORD. CONNECTICUT, AssIeNOR TO UNION PAPER BAe MACHINE COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OE PENNSYLVANIA.

PAPER-BAG MACHINE.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 790,304., dated May 23, 1905.

Application filed August 8, 1903. Serial No. 168,743.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and-State of Connecticut, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Bag Machines,

of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act specification.

The object of this invention is to provide automatic mechanism for forming in the open or mouth end of the side tucks of bellowssided paper bags or paper -bag blanks certain reversed folds which are shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States to H.

5 M. Farnsworth,-No. 355,010, dated December 28, 1886, so that when the bag is opened for use these particular folds will turn outwardly instead of inwardly, and thus present a funnelshaped mouth for the more ready reception of the contents of the bag. These folds also assist in maintaining the mouth of the bag in an open condition. For this purpose the upper or mouth ends of the inwardly-tucked bellows plies of the blank are turned outwardly,

5 the innermost bellows fold line being reversed and swung outwardly to positions approximately ninety degrees from their former positions- The machine of the present invention produces these folds by first turning over 3 one of the flat side walls of the bag or blank over a transversely-disposed defining edge, thereby opening the mo uth ends of the tucked bellows plies into flattened triangular plies. Then a pair of fingers, herein designated as the funnel-defining fingers, are brought against the blank across the centers of the triangular plies into approximate coincidence with what were formerly the inner bellows fold-lines, upon which lines each of these tri- 4 angles is then doubled upon itself by the turning back of the doubled-over side wall, the funnel-definingfingers serving to prevent the said fold-line from returning to its original position.

This invention may be embodied in an independentmachine by providing it with a suitable driving mechanism and' by providing means for feeding the blanks or bags to it in proper sequence and register; but'I prefer to embody the invention in a machine which op- 5 erates in conjunction with mechanism for folding the bottoms of paper bags from bellows-sided blanks, thus embodying in a single organization an automatic machine for rapidly manufacturing bellows-sided paper bags having these mouth folds. When thus employed in such an organization, the machine of my present invention may perform its 010- erations before the bottom of the bag has been formed, or it may, as herein shown, receive the bags after the bottom-forming niechanism has completed the bottom folds, or both operations may be performed simultaneously.

Figure l of the drawings is a plan view of 5 a machine embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the machine, partly in section, taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction indicated by the arrow. Fig. 3.is a side View in section taken 7 on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is an end view taken in section on the line 4 4c of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a side view of a portion of the folding mechanism in section,taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. mouth-opening mechanism. Fig. 7 is a plan view, and Fig. 8 a side view, of part of the folding mechanism. Figs. 9, 10, and 11 are perspective views of the mouth of a bellows-H sided bag-blank in successive stages of the 8? folding operation. Fig. 9 shows the blank J before it has been folded. Fig. 10 shows an intermediate position of the fold, and Fig. 11 shows the funnel folds completed.

The organization of mechanism shown and 5 described herein is adapted to be attached to many of the well-known forms of paper-bag machines, the feed-rolls 18 and 19 being considered as equivalents or substitutes for the delivery-rolls of such paper-bag machines. The 9 I mechanism herein shown is driven by a train of gears which may receive their motion from 'the gear 25 by meshing that gear with agear on the paper-bag machine to which it is connected. The feed-rolls 18 and 19 are mount- 95 ed upon the shafts 20 and 21, journaled in Fig. 6 is a side view of part of the bearings 22 22, and are provided with gears 24 and 25, which mesh together. These shafts and bearings are supported in the uprights 26 and 27, secured upon a base 28. The feedroll 18 is pressed toward the roll 19 by means of springs 23 pressing against the bearings 22. Motion is transmitted, by means of the gear 25, to the intermediate gear 29, which runs upon the stud 30 and transmits motion to the gear 31, attached to the shaft 32, running in bearings '33 and 34, attached to the uprights 26 and 27, respectively. The rotating blank-support 35 is approximately cylindrical, having portions cut away in its periphery, as best shown in Fig. 3, and it is carried by the shaft 32. The upper feed-roll 18 is bifurcated and made hollow to form a suction roll and is provided in one portion of its periphery with perforations 42, communicating with its interior connection with suitable exhausting apparatus, being made by means of the holes 43, the hollow shaft 20, and the pipe 41.

Between the feed-rolls 18 and 19 and the blank-support 35 is the suction-box 45, which communicates by means of the pipe 47 with the main suction-pipe 41. The wall 48 of this box inclines upward toward the surface of the blank-support 35 and is provided with perforations communicating with the interior of the box. This box is also provided with a recess to allow the passage of the grippers 51, Fig. 1. The pipe 41 may be provided with valves for putting the box 45 and the roll 18 into and out of communication with the exhausting apparatus at suitable intervals during the passage of the blank through the machine, as is shown and described in my Patent No. 591, 175. The suction-box 45 and roll 18 serve to draw apart the mouth ends of the two side walls of the blank to permit the certain entrance of the funnel-blades into the side tucks of the blank.

The rotating blank-support 35 carries one or more sets of gripping and folding devices to which suitable movements are imparted as the blank-support rotates. The machine herein shown is provided with two sets of these devices; but I will describe but one of these sets, it being understood that the construction and mode of operation of the second set is similar thereto and that these devices alternate in their operation upon the succeeding blanks.

The gripping device consists of a gripper 51, attached to a shaft 52, operated by an arm 53, provided with a roll or projection which is held against the fixed cam 54 by a spring 55. The cam 54 is supported by the bearing 33 and may be integral with another cam, as shownin the drawings, or be mounted thereon.

Each of the two sets or sections of the blanksupport 35 is provided with a projecting shelf or ledge 36, having a defining edge 37, which may extend either partially or entirely across wide as the depth of the side tucks of the blank. Adjacent to this edge 37 and on each side of the blank-support 35 is arranged a pair of funnel-folding devices, which rotate with the blank-support and operate in conjunction with the edge 37 to turn over one of the side walls of the blank. These devices comprise the sustaining-blades 63 and the swinging blades 65, which are mounted upon the slides 59, supported by the brackets 58, extending from the blanksupport. The sustainingblades 63 are attached to the shafts 64, journaled in the sleeves 62, which carry the swinging blades 65. The sleeves 62 are journaled in the slides 59, the axes of the sleeves 62 and the shafts 64 being in alinement with the defining edge 37, while the outer or fold-defining edges of the blades 63 and 65 are substantially at an angle of forty-five degrees with the defining edge 37. Both pairs of blades 63 and 65 are carried into and out of the bellows-sided tucks of the blank, and the sustaining-blades support the upper plies of those tucks, while the swinging blades 65 turn over the rearward end of the lower wall of the blank around the defining edge 37 and beneath the projecting ledge 36. As a means for moving the blades into and out of the tucks the slides 59 are provided with projections 60, which engage with the cam 61, attached to the bearings 33 and 34, and the oscillating movement of the swinging blades 65 is efiected by means of the pinions 66, which are fixed upon the sleeves 62 and mesh with the sector-gears 67, pivotally mounted upon studs 68, attached to the slides 59. These sectors are provided with rolls or studs 69, which are held by means of the springs 71 against the cams 70, mounted upon the bearings 33 and 34. The sustainingblades 63 are preferably given a slight oscillating movement away from and toward the blades 65 by means of the arm 72, attached to the shaft 64, and in engagement with a cam 73, being held against the surface of this eain by means of springs 80. Each set or blankseetion of the blank-support is also provided with a pair of reversing-fingers 74 on arms 75, which are pivoted on shafts 76, jourualed in the blank-support 35. The other ends of the shafts are provided with arms 77, held by means of springs 78 against the cams 79, which are supported upon the bearings 33 and 34, and may, as herein shown, be integral with one of the cams 61. The defining edges of the fingers 74 are mounted to swing toward and from the defining edge 37 during the rotation of the blank-support coepcrating with the blades 63 and 65 to reverse the funnel-mouth folds from the condition shown in Fig. 10 to that of Fig. 11.

The plate 87 is supported by the bar 88 and serves to flatten down the completed folds of the blank. The bifurcated pressing-roll 82 is fixed to the rotating shaft 83, mounted in 5 the blank-support, but should at least be as bearings in the uprights 26 and 27, the bearings being pressed toward the blank-support 35 by springs 85. Rotary motion is imparted to the roll 82 by the gear 86 meshing intothe large gear 31.

The location and position of the shafts 7 6 rearwardly of the defining edge and at approximately right angles thereto enables the reversing-fingers 74 to cooperate to great advantage in doubling the preliminary triangular folds into the funnel folds 98 by wiping the centers 99 of those folds forwardly and outwardly as the fingers swing toward the defining edge, thus closely approximating the natural movement of those folds.

The consecutive operation of this machine is as follows: The blank B is delivered to the rolls 18 and 19 in approximately the condition shown in Fig. 9 and passes over the suction-box 45, being deflected upwardly by the inclined wall 48 of the box, and thus directed tangentially to the surface of the blank-support 35. The front end of the blank is then gripped to the blank-support by means of the gripper 51. When the rear or mouth end of the blank arrives between the suction-box 45 and and the roll 18, the suction through the perforations draws the upper and lower walls of the blank apart, as shown in Fig. 6, thereby opening the side tucks 96 of the blank. The blades 63 and 65 then enter those tucks, the blade 63 sustaining the upper bellows sides of the blank. The swinging blades 65 are then turned by their sleeves, the axes of which are approximately in alinement with the defining edge 37, thus turning downwardly and forwardly the lower wall of the blank around the edge 37, and thereby stretching open the mouth end of the blank, as shown in Figs. 3, 7, 8, and 10. During this movement of the blades 65 the blades 63 are preferably swung upwardly to the position shown in Figs. 3, 7, and 8.- Then the fingers 74 are swung forward toward the defining edge 37, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, against the fold-lines 99 of the blank. While the fingers 74 remain in this position, the swinging blades 65 are turned back toward the figures 74 to the position 81, (shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 8,) thereby returning the lower wall of the blank to its first position, as shown in Fig. 11, and doubling the triangular side folds upon themselves along the fold-line 99 around the edges of the fingers 7 4, thus reversing the folds upon that line in substantial coincidence and alinement with the axes of the swinging blades, and thereby forming on each side of the blank the two V-shaped funnel plies 98. The blades 63 and 65 are then carried entirely out of thetucks, and as the mouth end of the blank approaches the plate 87 the reversing-v fingers 7 4 are gradually retracted and the funnel folds are'held together by the plate 87. Just before reaching the plate 89 the gripper 51 releases the forward end of the blank, the pressing-rolls 82 feeding it forward over the plate 89, which guides it between the rolls 90 and 91 to the tapes 92, thus finally compressing it to approximately the condition shown in Fig. 11, in which view, however, the blank is shown opened to a slight extent, so as to represent more clearly the character of the funnel folds produced by this operation.

I claim as my invention 1. Means for forming the described triangular funnel foldsin paper-bag blanks, comprising a rotatable blank-support having a defining edge, means for registering the successive blanks upon the support, a sustainingblade and a folding-blade mounted on each side of the blank-support for oscillation upon an axis substantially in line with the'defining edge, means for oscillating the folding-blades to fold the lower ply around the defining edge of the blank-support, means for oscillating the sustaining-blades in the opposite direction to carry the upper ply outwardly and means for reciprocating the sustaining-blades and the folding-blades toward and from the blanksupport.

2. Means for forming the described funnel folds in paper-bag blanks, comprising a blanksupport, means for opening the end of the blank into the preliminary triangular folds, and subsequently closing the end to double the said triangular folds upon themselves, and a pair of reversing-fingers mounted to cooperate in doubling the triangular folds into the funnel folds by wiping them outwardly.

3. Means for forming the described funnel folds in paper-bag blanks, comprising a traveling blank-support having a defining edge,

means for opening the end of the blank into the preliminary triangular folds and subsequently closing the end to double the said triangular folds upon themselves, a pair of reversing-fingers mounted rearwardly of the defining edge to swing forwardly and outwardly toward that edge, and thereby wipe the funnel folds outwardly in the operation of doubling the triangular folds.

4;. Means for forming the described funnel folds in paper-bag blanks, comprising a rotatable blank-support having a defining edge, means for registering the successive blanks upon the support, means for distending the end portion of theblank, means for spreading it open in both directions from the defining edge and subsequently closing it, and a pair of reversing-fingers mounted up'onthe blanksupport for oscillation on an axis substantially at right angles with the defining edge,

to swingthefingers into and away from a position adjacent to and substantially parallel with the defining edge.

5. Means for forming the described funnelfolds in paper-bag blanks, comprising a rotatable blank-support having a defining edge, means for registering the successive blanks upon the support, a sustaining-blade and a folding-blade mounted on each side of the ?& 790,304

blank-support for reciprocation toward and from the blank-support and for oscillation upon an axis substantially in line with the defining edge, a pair of reversing-fingers mounted on the blank-support for oscillation upon an axis substantially at right angles with the defining edge to swing the fingers into and away from a position adjacent to and substantially parallel With the defining edge, and means for oscillating the sustaining-blades and the folding-blades to stretch open the end of the blank around the defining edge as a center, prior to the operation of the reversing-lingers, and for closing those plies together again against the reversing-linger.

. In testimony whereof I. have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

W ILLIAM A. LORENZ. Vitnesses:

EDWARD H. LORENZ, WM. H. HoNIss. 

